Mumbai: CM Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the union budget stating it is a strong and decisive step leading to the goal of Vikasit Bharat.Speaking to the media after the budget was presented by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said growing urbanisation is a huge challenge for Maharashtra and the budget focusing on planned urbanisation for cities with a population of more than five lakh will greatly benefit Maharashtra.
“The encouragement to industry and entrepreneurship and robust measures for investment and employment generation in this budget lays a solid foundation for sustainable growth,” said Fadnavis. He said an investment of Rs 12 lakh crore has been earmarked for the infrastructure sector along with substantial allocations for agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries and irrigation.“Following the success ofthe Lakhpati Didi initiative, the proposal to create dedicated malls and industrial opportunities for women is highly significant as also hostels for girl students pursuing higher education in every district.”The decision to start emergency medical services (casualty and trauma centre) in district hospitals will prove to be a major boost to the healthcare sector, said the CM.The Mumbai–Pune and Pune–Hyderabad high-speed corridors are expected to significantly enhance GDP growth. Each Growth Hub will receive ₹5,000 crore over a period of 5 years, benefiting the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune Metropolitan Region, and the Nagpur Metropolitan Growth Hub, said Fadnavis.Maharashtra, he said, will benefit to the tune of Rs one lakh crore from the union budget. This includes Rs 6103 crore for the Mumbai- Ahmedabad high speed corridor, Rs 1702 crore for the Mumbai Metro, Rs 462 crore for MUTP 3 amongst other projects.He further said the union budget and the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union would give a big fillip to Maharashtra which is number one in the manufacture of gems and jewellery, engineering tools and is a hub for textiles.
